Also, the New Chromebook is Better Than I Thought

Before my recent trip (for a backgammon tournament), I purchased a new (to me) 14" Chromebook because I felt like the 11.6" screen on my old one was just too small to get much work done. But even though it's newer than the old one, it also felt slower than the old one, for the obvious reason that it has half the RAM (4Gb v. 8Gb). So I took the smaller one on the trip, and kind of regretted doing so. Trying to get work done was really annoying.

Yesterday, Tamara had a medical procedure that required me to sit in a waiting room for an extended period so that I could drive her home (they won't release you post-anesthesia without a driver). I broke out the "new" Chromebook, let it it do its software updates, etc., and took it with me.

It performed reasonably well, and the bigger screen was a great relief to my eyes. I didn't have to put it through its full paces (writing columns, extensive editing, etc.) -- I just tracked down and bookmarked content, mostly -- but it was about a thousand times less unpleasant than the smaller screen.

Before I travel again (I've got nothing immediately planned), I may bust it open, remove the write-protect screw from the SSD, put it back together, and install a fairly light Linux distribution on it. I still like real Linux better than ChromeOS.

I may also (or instead) see if I can get it to treat my little HDMI projector as a second monitor. That would not only give me two work screens in e.g. a hotel environment, it would let me use the thing to stream the media I want to watch instead of whatever channels the hotel happens to offer.

My Next Likely Office Equipment Purchase

Lately I find myself more concerned with ergonomics than with electronics. For example, I purchased a little "clamps to the edge of the desk" arm rest that takes a lot of strain off my forearm/wrist.

This morning, for the first time, I considered getting a pair of "monitor arms," and I think I will do that the next time I turn some Bitcoin into Amazon gift card credit (or when someone decides it's time to send me something from my Amazon Wish List).

That I haven't done so before is mostly because I overlooked their main use case.

I always thought of them as space savers, and since I tend to keep my desktop surface minimally occupied and efficiently organized, I already have plenty of space. Every time I try to optimize for space, I feel like it was a waste of time and money. Another square foot of desk space makes zero difference to my quality of office life.

But this morning it finally and belatedly occurred to me that using adjustable arms would do more than free up desktop space currently occupied by risers.

As I age and my vision gets (thankfully pretty slowly) worse, I might want them closer. When I want my chair further back or closer, or want to sit up straight vs. lean forward vs. lean back, I might want them closer or further away; higher, or lower; perpendicular to or tilted vis a vis the desk surface, all of which would amount to "grab and reposition" with monitor arms, but would require extensive remodeling at present (with the monitors on bases, sitting on risers, sitting on the desktop).

Other than some possible cable management issues to resolve and some minimal expense (about $45 for the pair I'm looking at), the idea just seems infinitely superior to my current setup.

Do any of you use clamp-on monitor arms? If so, what's your opinion of how much better or worse they are than monitors sitting on a surface?

Wordle 1732 Hint

Hint: If you grab something, give it a hug, then fasten it to something else, you will have done today's Wordle three times.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle after the ad below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: C